Some Mideast states fund schools that teach hate: ex-Congressman

Tehran, Dec 15, IRNA - Former US Congressman Jim Slattery says that certain countries in the Middle East fund schools that are “teaching hatred of Jews, Christian and the Western people”. Slattery made the statement in an exclusive interview with 'Tehran Times' published Monday. The former US official who was a participant to the two-day conference, titled 'World Against Violence and Extremism', was the very first of its kind proposed and hosted by Iran. “I think that these schools are very harmful for the future of Islam and the relationships between Christianity and Islam,” Slattery underlined. Responding to a question by the daily on the rise of ISIL and his opinion whether Iran has a role to play in the fight against the terrorist group, Slattery said: 'I think that Iran has a clear role to play in opposing ISIL, trying to communicate to the young men that are involved in ISIL and what they are doing is in violation of basic teachings of Islam. I think Iran has an important role to play in confronting this kind of terrorism in the region. 'I am very pleased that the government of Iran is taking a leadership role in condemning violence and terrorism in the world especially that is under the guise of religion. The speakers at the conference from Iran have all condemned terrorism that is being caused by ISIL and other terrorist groups that are committing these terrible acts under the guise of religion. I am very pleased to see Iran taking that kind of leadership.' On his opinion whether the world has taken Iran’s initiative in campaign against violence seriously, Slattery noted: 'Just because the world doesn’t necessarily does not focus on this conference intensely it does not mean that we shouldn’t continue this effort. I am very encouraged by the faith leaders, in Christian tradition, in Muslim tradition today that have clearly condemned these horrible acts of terrorism that have been committed in the name of God.' Replying to a query by the daily whether he thinks that support to extremists, who have created human tragedies in Iraq and Syria, is somehow similar to the support to such groups in Afghanistan in the 1980s, which finally led to the emergence of Al-Qaeda, Slattery stated: 'I don’t know. But I am very troubled by the support of certain schools in the world of Islam that are teaching hatred of Jews, Christian and the Western people and that a lot of these schools are funded by certain countries in the Middle East, and I am not referring to Iran. I think that these schools are very harmful for the future of Islam and the relationships between Christianity and Islam.' On whether he thinks some extreme schools of thought in the West have contributed to Islamophobia, he said: 'There may be areas in the U.S., communities, where people are unfamiliar with Muslims and so when they see women wearing hijab or men that are from the Middle East, they may have some sort of hesitant reaction to that. But I spent a lot of time in the Washington D.C. area and Kansas City and in both communities women wearing hijab was becoming quite numerous. I think that suspicions and the fears of unknown tend to subside with familiarity. 'I believe that this is another reason for people from other faith backgrounds to get to know each other and I believe that the relationship between Christians and Muslims is going to define the 21st century where you have nearly 2.2 billion Christians and 1.6 billion Muslims in the world and both populations are growing significantly. 'We cannot afford ignorance and conflict to define that relationship. If we do then we are going to condemn our children and grandchildren to a long term struggle that will bankrupt both sides as a potential to make life miserable in both communities and that has to be avoided at all cost. I believe the way to avoid that is to have conferences and conversations and have people to know each other. 'I am a big believer in people to people diplomacy. That is something that President Eisenhower who witnessed incredible death and destruction in the WWII was committed to. He believed if war is going to be avoided in the future that people to people diplomacy would work.' Questioned on his views of his first trip to Iran and on his message to America after the WAVE conference in Tehran, Slattery said: 'My message to America for the past 10 years has been that we need to get to know Iran. My message to Iran is that you need to know America. I believe there is misinformation on both sides. And we need to move beyond this misinformation and update the information so that we don’t make decisions based on the information that is 10 years old. 'I look forward to the day that we can normalize relations between Iran and America that would be mutually beneficial to both countries and the people of both countries,' he concluded. The WAVE conference was recently hosted by Iran, in the capital city of Tehran, which was greatly welcomed by many political and religious figures as well as researchers from all four corners of the world, from Britain, the U.S., Brazil, and Sweden to Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Jim Slattery, the former U.S. Congressman who served under presidents George Bush, Ronald Regan and Bill Clinton attended the meeting to discuss the common concerns of all nations who are battling violence and extremism./end